Gender Orientation: Intersex Conditions Within The Transsexual Brain

This is part of a lecture given on May 5, 2010 by Prof. Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University. Prof. Sapolsky reviews studies he feels make a compelling case for those who assert that transsexualism is actually a type of intersex condition.

Those interested in gender roles and the brain should read Cordelia Fine’s Delusions of Gender. Fine does an excellent job at debunking pernicious myths while chronicling the history of the way neurology has been used to support gender roles. Having said that, trans readers may note that Fine someones conflates gender identity with gender role. Outside of this one critique, I strongly recommend the book to anyone who wants to look at the neurologic science behind gender role formation.

Cristan Williams is a trans historian and pioneer in addressing the practical needs of the transgender community. She started the first trans homeless shelter in the South and co-founded the first federally funded trans-only homeless program, pioneered affordable healthcare for trans people in the Houston area, won the right for trans people to change their gender on Texas ID prior to surgery, started numerous trans social service programs and founded the Transgender Center as well as the Transgender Archives. Cristan is the editor at the social justice sites TransAdvocate.com and TheTERFs.com, is a long-term member and previous chair of the City of Houston HIV Prevention Planning Group.